Amazon UK lists Nexus 9 release date as December 15

Up for pre-orders on Google Play, as well as a number of regional Amazon websites, Google and HTC’s brand new Nexus 9 was widely believed to ship to early buyers next week.

Only Amazon US never mentioned a launch date, merely vowing to deliver the tablet “when it arrives”. Meanwhile, the online retailer’s UK branch is less vague, more ominous. “This item will be released on 15 December 2014” reads Amazon.co.uk.

That’s a new message, for the record, and no delay explanation has been offered. According to one persistent Reddit user, a representative for the seller babbled a response in an online chat, saying “we are unable to confirm the reason for the delay in release date”.